Sharjah book fair draws book lovers of all ages

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of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), regarded as the greatest writer in modern Indian literature.

“Later, the Bengali language came handy when I needed to write love letters to a Bengali girl I fell in love with,” he said, referring to film actress Rakhi whom he eventually married in 1973. Their daughter Meghna Gulzar is now an accomplished filmmaker.

Even at 85, he is still one of the most sought after Bollywood lyricists. “I am constantly trying to adapt and learn from the new generation of creative and fearless talent,” he said.

Gulzar said that the Sharjah Book fair has left him truly awestruck. “I regret why I couldn’t attend it earlier. What I particularly love about the fair is its theme ‘Open Books Open Minds’. It’s so beautiful and meaningful. This is my first time here and I am enjoying every moment,” he said.

“Events like these reinforce my belief that the world of the written words will never fade away. Back in the day when

VHS tapes and DVDs came, people thought that they would spell doom for the cinema industry. But cinema has continued to flourish and so will the world of books,” he said. The engaging session was moderated by radio personality Gagan Mudgal and also featured musical tributes to Gulzar who was introduced as a ‘linguistic magician’ by Anant Padmanabhan of publishing house Harper Collins.

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Watch a video of rare atlas collection and longest Quran on display at the Sharjah book fair